22 November 2009

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven? This feeling is something you just can't purchase at your local bakery or at Costco. Making bread is an act to not only feed my family and myself, but to nourish my soul as well. I can pick up a fresh loaf of bread within a five-minute walking distance from my home, but I occasionally like to make my own bread just for the comfort factor. When I attended the very first ever Foodbuzz Festival I was one of the lucky recipients of the new Zoë François and Jeff Hertzberg book Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I have been eagerly browsing through it's pages and have my eye on a pumpkin brioche, but before I venture into artisan breads I was looking for something to do with the leftover mashed, roasted butternut squash I had on hand.

One bread I enjoy making at home is focaccia. In addition to thinking it's one of the easier breads to bake, I also love it's diversity. It is quite often baked with sea salt and rosemary, but, you can easily add thyme or sage instead, not to mention goat cheese, caramelized onions, olives, garlic, nuts, anchovies, and fresh tomatoes.The sky is the limit!!!!Don't you just love it!!!

Focaccia or panis focacius is a traditional Italian bread whose recipe dates back to ancient Rome. It was a flat bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace. The word is derived from the Latin focus meaning “centre” and also “fireplace” ...the fireplace being in the centre of the house. Like pizza, it is made from a simple and basic yeast dough that is often cooked with olive oil.

As mentioned earlier I had some leftover butternut squash so I decided to bake a focaccia loosely based on a recipe I found on the internet from Gattina of Kitchen Unplugged. The Internet is a very useful tool when searching for ideas. She had produced a foccacia using mashed pototoes so I said to myself why not try butternut squash instead. When I was in Greece a few years back on the small island of Kea at Keartisinal Aglaia Kremezi taught us how to make a focaccia using zucchini picked fresh from her garden and then grated into the dough. What Aglaia taught me was to make use of what is available to you as well as use the best ingredients possible. This is how you will become a success in your own kitchen and leave people wanting more!!!

To follow through with the almost sweet tendencies of the squash I chose to caramelize some cippolini onions to add on top. These are small sweet onions, having more residual sugar than garden-variety white or yellow onions, but not quite as sweet as shallots. Their sweetness makes for a lovely addition to recipes where you might want to use whole caramelized onions. Replace the cipollini onions with shallots if you cannot find them as they will substitute very well. Shallots are quite a bit pricier. The onions add a sweet flavor that plays off the salt in this bread nicely. Feel free to use chopped kalamata olives instead, add goat cheese, or just use herbs and salt. To add that depth of flavour you will find the method of roasting your butternut squash here.

Once the dough has risen it is common practice to "dot" the bread. This creates multiple wells in the bread by using a finger or the handle of a utensil to poke the unbaked risen dough. As a way to preserve moisture in the bread, olive oil is then spread over the dough, by hand or with a pastry brush prior to rising and baking. Whatever you do, your house will smell like HOME. It is simply not something that can be duplicated!!!!

The verdict.....This bread was delicious and can be made in stages or made all in the same day depending on your own schedule. Everything about it appealed to me. This is the perfect base recipe for making all sorts of different flavoured focaccia bread! With it's gorgeous orange hue this would be perfect for the American Thanksgiving coming up. A Happy holiday to all our American friends. I will be making this again and again and have even entered it in a recipe contest.

8 oz /1 cup mashed butternut squash, precooked ( I had leftover roasted butternut which makes a world of difference!!)

25g fresh yeast or 1 package dry

3 cups flour (+ 1/4 cup for dusting)

1 cup whole milk, lukewarm

2 teaspoons sea salt (and extra for topping)

5 teaspoons canola or corn oil

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil ( and extra for drizzling on top)

1 teaspoons dried crushed oregano

a little water (if the dough is too dry)

1 cup caramelized onions (see recipe below)

dash of chili flakes or red peppercorns

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In a large mixing bowl, combine fresh yeast, flour, mashed butternut squash, oregano, both oils and salt. Add milk (most of it but not all... later during the kneading after you get a good feeling of its moisture, then decide if more milk is needed).

Dust the work table with 1/4 cup of flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Please note that the dough in the beginning feels a bit dry, but later turns sticky (so don't rush to add excessive liquid too soon). The dough should be slightly sticky.

Put the dough in a large bowl pregreased with olive oil, cover with pre-greased plastic wrap and place the bowl on the lowest shelf of the fridge; let it proof overnight.

The following day remove the dough from the fridge and fold it (but do not knead) a few times, just to re-distribute the yeast cells.

Grease the baking tray with olive oil, and your hands too; gently press the dough until it reaches the sides of the pan. This may require a resting period depending on whether or not the dough is too springy depending on the gluten content of your flour. Sprinkle with the caramelized onions and chili flakes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it has a doubled in volume.

"Dot" the bread with your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon to create dimples. If the dough seems sticky dip your finger into a tiny bit of flour or olive oil. Brush olive oil onto the surface of bread. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Pre-heat oven to 230 C/450 F.

Bake the focaccia for 5 minutes, then lower to 200 C/400 F until it's done, it may take 20 - 25 mins in total. Unmold the bread and let it completely cool on a rack.The focaccia tastes best in the first 2 days.

Good enough to make 6 sandwiches, or simply to cut into chunks, accompanied with tomato sauce (or in this case a nice dip or spread).

Caramelized Onions

1 cup sliced cipollini onions (or shallots)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

Heat olive oil in a medium to large pan. Add onions and sauté on medium low for about five minutes. Add the sugar and stir. Cook the onions until they are soft and a light golden colour.

I love foccacia and have made it once, but an so eager to try it again after seeing it being made at my work twice daily....the smell teases so much, you have no idea. Four large loaves each time too....but I rarely get any because by the end of service it is all gone :(

I have a question. Why would you not use olive oil throughout the recipe? You have corn or canola listed as the main oil. Is it because it would be overpowering or is there a reason I'm not aware of? I haven't made much bread so I don't know if different oils have a different effect.Thank you for this recipe, you've made me want to try making bread!

Your post excite me too cook this recipe. I really like it. Thank you for this recipe, hope I’ll be able to cook something like this sooner. I can’t wait until the weekend. Looking forward for more great stuff here. More power!

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.